Working Habits
by jkminimoon
Summary: Back then, I suppose I had deserved that slap. But, in my defense, she was the one who was eavesdropping. Old-Rivalshipping, Drabble-style, Pokemon Special
1. First Impressions

**Working Habits  
**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Pokemon Special. Imagine that...**

* * *

_Back then, I suppose I had deserved that slap. But, in my defense, she was the one who was eavesdropping._

"Green, take a break for a second. I would like you to meet someone."

I looked up from my computer screen to see Grandpa standing over me with a broad smile on his face. I raised a questioning eyebrow at the old man, and he sent me a grin as if he knew something that I didn't. He gestured for me to turn around. I sighed, but complied and swiveled around in my office chair to face him. Beside me, Red half-turned to see what was going on.

For a moment, I looked around and waited for Grandpa to introduce me to this someone, but there was no one. This was starting to look suspicious. Grandpa always liked to play little pranks when there wasn't anything to do. Usually they ended with me looking like an idiot and Gramps laughing his ass off. My eyes immediately narrowed.

"Unless he's invisible, I don't see anyone."

"Well, he is actually a she, and she's in the bathroom right now. It won't take long." He smiled innocently, the wrinkles in his face growing deeper. I sighed, rubbing some of the muscles in my neck. It was just as well. Red and I were long overdue for a break. It seemed as if we had been sitting for hours, just inputting data for the new pokedex. It was tedious and boring work, and my eyes were sore from straining at the computer. Red let out a loud yawn as he stretched his arms out.

"Ah, here she comes." Grandpa called out towards the rows of bookshelves in the far corner of the lab. "Miss Ootaki, please come over here." We heard the sound of high heels clopping against the linoleum floor before a young woman barely older than me poked her head out from behind a bookshelf.

She smiled and waved before making her way towards us, and I took the time to look her up and down. She couldn't have been more than twenty or twenty-one. Her long auburn hair was neatly tied in a ponytail, yet a few strands carefully framed her childish face. Most of her figure was hidden in her long lab coat, but at least, I could say she had nice legs. I had to admit she was attractive, but in the end, she was nothing special.

Grandpa seemed eager to introduce us, and he was watching my reaction out of the corner of his eye. She smiled brightly as she joined us, and her blue eyes sparkled with excitement. "Sorry, I got distracted."

"That's fine." Grandpa smiled kindly. "I would like you to meet my grandson and his friend, Okito Green and Nagamiya Red. They've been helping me with my research recently." She smiled gently and nodded her head at both of us while Grandpa turned to us.

"Red. Green. This is Ootaki Blue. She's an upcoming researcher in the Sevii Islands." I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. She seemed a little young to be a researcher. Red and I stood up and politely shook her hand as she laughed at Grandpa's introduction.

"Well, I'm not really a professional yet. Otherwise I wouldn't be here."

"Oh," Gramps brushed off her modesty with a wave. "I've heard excellent things about you from your mentor. Believe me. I think you'll be excellent help in the next few months."

Red and I shared confused looks, and Grandpa laughed at the two of us. He loved that he knew something we didn't. The old geezer was making us look like fools. "I forgot to tell you," he said, "Blue is going to stay with us for about four months. She's going to learn the ins and outs of running a research facility." I glared at Grandpa as he turned to Blue. That kind of information would have been really helpful before I met the woman.

Grandpa continued talking to her, "You'll probably work mostly with Green. Red will pop in occasionally to help. I hope you two learn a lot from each other." He smiled at the both of us. It was obvious he had high expectations for us.

Blue smiled nervously at me. "Yeah, I hope I learn a lot too." I felt a twinge of pity for her. It was the first day, and she was already feeling the pressure. I could only nod at her reassuringly.

"Well, now that we have introductions out of the way, I'll finish the tour of the lab and let you meet my other grandchild. She's a sweet one. I'm sure you'll love her." Grandpa rambled on as he led Blue towards the stairs. She was only able to give us a small wave before she was rushed off upstairs. They disappeared around the corner, Grandpa's laughter fading into soft echoes.

I let out a sigh, realizing that my shoulders had been tense. I looked over to Red who was watching me with some interest. He was grinning the same way my Grandpa had, like he knew something I didn't. Those kinds of grins always rubbed me the wrong way. I hit him upside the head to get rid of it. Red let out a string of curses as I returned to my computer.

"Get back to work. Break's over," I ordered, swiveling around in my chair. I grimaced at the computer screen, seeing I still had about a hundred entries to go. The next few hours were going to be hell.

Red moaned beside me. "Are you serious? I'm getting really sick of this." He glanced out a nearby window. "It's a nice day out. Can't we take a break for an hour?"

"You're the one who promised to help." I reminded him as I started on an entry on a new water pokemon found on the outskirts of Sinnoh. His whining was grating on my nerves, and I was quietly cursing Grandpa for interrupting us. Red wasn't one to stop once he got started. Now he was never going to stop whining.

"Yeah, but you didn't say we were going to be doing _this_." He gestured to the computer with a disgusted look on his face. I didn't reply. At this point, it was better to ignore him, but he didn't say anymore. The only sounds were of my fingers clacking against the keyboard and the fluorescent lights buzzing above. After a while, I stopped and looked at Red. He hadn't uttered a word in five minutes, and it was disconcerting.

He met my stare thoughtfully and started slowly as if he wasn't sure where to begin. "Hey… What do you think about Blue?"

I raised an eyebrow. Red was unusually hesitant. "She seems nice." I offhandedly commented, typing a few sentences into the computer. If Red could still talk, he wasn't in any life-threatening situation. I tried to return back to work, but Red continued to look at me oddly.

"Yeah…" He paused and then let out a soft chuckle. "It's kind of funny. The professor kept looking at you when he introduced her. I think… he wants you two to get together or something."

I was taken aback by his observation. "What?" I immediately stopped working and gave him a look, torn between confusion and amusement. "Gramps was just introducing us."

"No, there was something weird about the way he was smiling at you two." Red observed with his hand on his chin. "Anyway, she seems like your type."

I snorted, turning my full attention to him. Red was lazily lounging in his chair and grinning his head off. That same grin he had before, and I was half-tempted to slap it off again. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Oh you know. You just like those smart types." Red smirked a bit. "That and I saw you staring at her legs."

I glared at him, but he simply grinned wider. Probably because he noticed that my ears were pink with embarrassment. I cleared my throat. "She has nice legs, but she doesn't have much cleavage." Actually I wasn't actually sure of that. Her lab coat was too bulky to really tell, but a little fib to get Red off my case couldn't hurt.

In hindsight, I should have never said that.

A hand came out of nowhere and slapped me across the face. It left a throbbing and burning sensation on my cheek. I winced, hissing at the pain, and stared up at the perpetrator. A pair of livid blue eyes were glaring down at me, and I felt my stomach sink.

Damn it.

Red watched us with wide eyes as he stared between me and Blue. I could only look at her like a deer in the headlights. Me and my big mouth! But I couldn't think of what to do next or what to say. I was sure if I had opened my mouth, nothing but nonsense would have come out. She stood, towering over me, with her hands resting on her hips. Her eyes were an icy blue, and the smile that had graced her lips was gone and replaced with a sneer of disgust.

For a while, none of us moved as if we were frozen, as if fate felt like screwing with me by prolonging the awkward silence. Finally she turned to Red. With a surprisingly calm voice, she asked Red to leave for a moment while she talked to me. I looked at Red with what I'm sure was a panicked expression. I wasn't sure if I wanted him to be here to see whatever I went through, but somehow it seemed better than being alone with Blue.

Red looked between us, not sure of what to do. That is until Blue sent him one of her icy glares. "Um, I think I'm going to take that break now, Green." He sidled out until he was in the clear. I wanted to chase after him and beat him into a pulp. What kind of friend was he? What kind of pokemon champion runs from a girl with his tail between his legs?

However, I didn't give it another thought as Blue took Red's seat. She continued to stare at me with her cold eyes, and I could do nothing but blankly stare back at her. I had always prided myself on my ability to think quickly on my feet, but this was beyond any situation I had trapped myself in. I couldn't do anything, and my mind drew a blank.

Finally after what seemed like hours, she let out a long sigh. "You're despicable." she spat out, glaring contemptuously at me. "I was pretty excited to work with someone as renowned as you, but now I realize you're just an asshole."

Her words burned like acid, and a frown marred my face as the wheels in my brain began to turn again. She had no right to say any of that. She didn't know me at all, and she didn't know the situation. If I tried to tell her what Red was saying…

"Look," I began and cleared my throat as it had come out raspy. I was about to explain myself, but she didn't let me have another word.

"I don't care what you have to say." She bit back, "I've heard enough from you! I'll slap you again if you say another word to me." She sent me one last glare before storming off back upstairs.

That set the whole thing off like a fuse.

I narrowed my eyes at her back. What the hell!? I was about to apologize but she didn't let me have one word in edgewise. And did she threaten me? I sat back in my chair mulling the conversation – if you can call it that – over in my head. She was way out of line. Not only did she slap me, but she insulted me and cut me off. I growled under my breath and started typing furiously, slamming down on each key.

The next few months were going to be hell.

* * *

**A/N:Let's see... Where to begin? This began as a one shot for Aquamarine. Then became a two-shot and quickly a three shot before I said, "Screw it! I decree it shall be its own story." I suppose it was a wise decision, considering no one wants read about 20000 words of drabble in one go. Rather they would read 20 installments of drabble or something like that. I'm a little sad though. I didn't expect this story to be my first multi chapter fic**. **I'll admit. This story isn't my favorite, but I do want people to read it. So here it is. Out! For the world to see. BTW the title makes no sense because I just made it up on the spot. I feel very unprofessional.  
**

**The last names of the characters are ones that I came up with that I felt were more appropriate. Okito (Green) just comes from the japanese games. Ootaki (Blue) means "Big waterfall." I think I wanted Kotaki (small waterfall) but my BETA was said that Blue has a big personality and whatnot. Nagamiya (Red) means "eternal palace" or "long palace." Yeah, this one doesn't fit as well but I liked the way it sounded and my BETA argued that Red is kind of like a king because he's the champion. So it sticks. I'll probably use these names for all my future fics.**

**So reviews are appreciated, as always. I try to respond! I'll probably update this weekly since I have parts pre-written. So click that button and tell me what you think!**


	2. The Wrong Buttons

**Working Habits**

**Disclaimer:** **Don't own Pokemon Special, and honestly, you don't want me to.**

* * *

_It's amazing how she could push all the wrong buttons._

"What are you doing?" It was a low hiss, and it sounded so unlike me that I barely realized that the words had come from my mouth. But what was she doing at _my_ desk, going through _my_ stuff? For a moment, she seemed torn between embarrassment and shock, and then she remembered that it was me. She gave me a look of distaste as though a bug had just entered the room. Her blue eyes narrowed as they always seemed to around me. She stood up straight and proudly held her chin as if she wasn't doing anything shameful, as if she wasn't going through _my_ stuff.

"Get _away_." I growled at her. She looked a bit taken aback, but she quickly regained her composure.

"I'm just looking for a stapler," she coolly replied as she opened one of my desk drawers. Then somewhere in my mind, something snapped. I briskly walked up and slammed the drawer shut. She jumped back and glared up at me defiantly. "I said I'm just looking for a stapler." She said between clenched teeth, her voice shaking with anger.

"Don't _touch_ my stuff." I slammed my fist down on my desk. For a second, fear flashed across her face. But her eyes hardened, and she turned her fear into fuel for her anger, upset that she was ever intimidated. I knew I wasn't thinking clearly anymore. I saw red. She didn't listen. She was constantly in the way. She was impossible to work with. I had it with her disrespect.

"I _need_ a stapler." She stared at me, unflinching and unwavering. Her eyes were dark, and I knew she was too hardheaded to leave.

I growled at her persistence. Quickly I rummaged through a drawer, slammed it shut, and shoved a stapler into her hands. She looked down at the stapler in surprise, expecting more of a resistance from me. Then, she contemptuously nodded at me as if I had done the right thing to give it to her, and I gripped my hand in fury.

Right before she turned to leave, I grabbed her small arm and turned her to face me. "You know," I whispered huskily, glaring at her headstrong blue eyes. "I have never met anyone who can't listen like you. Are you deaf or don't they teach you how to listen on the Islands?" I leaned in closer so she could hear every word leaving my mouth. She seemed alarmed as my breath touched her neck, but her pride wouldn't let her pull back.

"_Don't. Touch. My. Stuff._" I whispered harshly into her ear. "Can you _hear_ me now?"

For a moment, she continued to glare at me with a burning hatred that I had never seen before, her eyes glittering in the weak light. Then I saw it. Her eyes began to water, but she quickly turned away from me, finally breaking the gaze she had tried so hard to maintain.

"I got it." She spat as she wrenched her arm out of my hand. She still wouldn't face me. "Get away from me." She pushed me aside and quickly made her way out of the room. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the stapler. She turned around the corner out of my sight.

For a moment, I stood, looking at the spot where she had just been. I sunk into my desk chair, but I couldn't settle into it. With no object to fuel my anger, it all dissipated and left me with nothing but guilt. I felt like bile was crawling up my throat. Hand on my head, I replayed our fight back in my mind, and I gulped as I remembered how her eyes welled up. I sighed, pressing my cold fingers against my forehead.

Damn… I _was_ an asshole.

* * *

**A/N: "Can you hear me now?" Verizon Wireless. :laughs hysterically: I'm sorry. That is all I think of when I read that line, which sucks because that's the climax of this scene. **

**So I feel like I should stress again that this is drabble style. It really only takes certain pivotal moments in their lives. This is probably the climax of Green and Blue's bad moments together. I have to admit, Green has been a douche bag these past two chapters. He shall redeem himself though. Hopefully...**

**Anyway, thanks to the reviewers of chapter one. I really appreciate the constructive criticism because I write mostly on fanfiction to get better. This one is short, but giving out long chapters all the time isn't healthy for me. (excuses excuses)**

**Please review! I appreciate feedback, and I'd love to hear from my readers. Otherwise, it's rather lonely. :sad face: Anyway click that button and type up a word or two!**


	3. One Word

**Working Habits**

**Disclaimer: You'll know when I own Pokemon Special, but unfortunately not today.  
**

* * *

_One word was all it took._

"Hey! Pass me the rubbing alcohol."

I looked up from the floor at Blue as she was treating a baby Whismur with a scratch on its knee. The little Whismur was whimpering softly on the verge of wailing.

"Are you talking to me?" I asked skeptically with a raised eyebrow. Every time she addressed me it always seemed to start with a "hey!" or "you!" It was like my name was poison and that she would keel over if she uttered it. If that was the case, I hoped she would accidentally slip and say my name.

She turned towards me and glared with her fierce blue eyes. "Of course I'm talking to you. There's no one else here," she growled. Tears began to flow down the Whismur's beady eyes from Blue's harsh tone. The woman immediately turned to it, whispering gentle murmurs of comfort. She glanced at me reproachfully as a way to say "Hurry up!"

I rolled my eyes. Grandpa had to be insane to put the two of us in the nursery together. Since she had arrived, we barely spoke a word to each other, and we were completely fine with that. Now he was forcing us to work together. Something about the importance of teamwork and blah, blah, blah. I rubbed my eyes wearily, feeling a headache forming behind my temples.

"It's just by the baby powder." I mentioned monotonously, pointing at the pink nursery shelf barely a few feet away from her.

"I'm a little preoccupied right now," she replied tersely. She cooed at the baby Whismur, wiping at its tears and singing little nursery rhymes to cheer it up.

I scoffed and looked down at myself. I wasn't exactly free to move about either. I was sitting on the floor with about ten pokemon hanging off of me. They were laughing and chattering, using me as a ladder and dangling from my head and arms. One particular Pichu was latched onto my head, rubbing its cheeks against my hair and shocking me every few second with static. I felt like a clown, overrun by little kids.

I looked over at Blue who carefully shushed the baby Whismur. Strands of auburn were falling out of her usual neat ponytail. There were heavy dark bags under her eyes, and her eyes were bloodshot. Since our last explosive encounter, she seemed to have been sleeping less. Guilt churned in my stomach as an image of her watering eyes came to mind. I gulped and shook my head to push it out of my thoughts. When my mind wandered, it always came back to that image. How long did she cry? Where did she run to cry? We never talked about it. I couldn't bring myself to mention it, not even to apologize. It was almost taboo, and we both acted like it never happened. I vaguely wondered if she thought about it as much as I did. I watched as she gently closed her eyes wearily and let out a shudder of a sigh. She was exhausted.

Sighing, I slowly stood up and watched as a few pokemon tumbled out of my lap and tried to climb back up my legs. I trudged over to the shelf as the Pichu on my head shrieked with joy, and I picked up the bottle of rubbing alcohol. I dragged my way back to Blue, feeling like I was walking through quicksand. The Whismur began to giggle and clap as she saw me approach. Blue turned around, surprised to see me, the living jungle gym.

"Here." I pushed the bottle towards her as she stared at me blankly. She seemed confused, almost as if she didn't know what to do with it. Her eyes looked up at me warily, questions popping up left and right in her mind. She never actually expected me to get it for her. I grew impatient of just standing there like an idiot holding out the bottle.

"Would you just take it?" I muttered, exhaustion creeping into my tone.

Blue hesitated and then gently took it from me. I sighed, ready to force some of these pokemon back into their cribs when I heard a small whisper.

"Thanks… Green."

I turned to look at Blue, not entirely sure if I heard right. She had her head tilted down a little as if she was reading the bottle's ingredients, but her eyes were looking through long eyelashes at me. I hesitated a little.

"You're… welcome."

It felt strange. It was probably the first exchange of words we had that didn't involve a command or insult. My stomach churned again but with something warmer than guilt. I supposed people were right when they said good deeds lead to good feelings. I turned away, a bit embarrassed, and moved towards the beds. Then the Pichu on my head yanked at my hair, and I let out a tiny yelp of pain.

I could have sworn I heard a small giggle from her, but when I turned around, Blue had her head bent over the Whismur's scratch with the rubbing alcohol in one hand and a cotton swab in the other.

* * *

**A/N: I was supposed to post this last week, but some difficulties came up. This past year has been a bad year for computers for me. Right now, I'm working with a sad little laptop that has a broken monitor. Hopefully, I can get a new computer soon. **

**It's been enlightening to read comments by the readers. Green wasn't very popular after the last chapter, but hopefully this redeems him a little in your eyes.**

**I will try to get out the next chapter faster. Please review. I really would like to hear feedback for this story. Especially for this story.**


End file.
